Book help...

[Sgt. Slaughter]

I'm looking for a book that is pretty complete in and of its own, which shows different muscles and exercises related to that muscle. In other words, which exercise works which muscle. Any hints?

[Sgt. DG644]

I don't know if this will help. It is not a book but a web site that has a lot of useful information.

http://www.betterbodz.com/exercise_main.html

[krj]

Below is a site that I use very regularly. It contains information on:

Comprehensive muscle charts - identifying location of specific muscles/muscle groups
Movement achieved
Attachments
Wide variety of exercises to work specific muscles/groups
Moving photos demonstrating safe lifting technique (as well as written instructions)
Sample programs - everything from toning to power training to plyometrics etc.

www.exrx.net

Another site that might be useful is the following:

http://ipsapp002.lwwonline.com/content/getfile/2320/1324/1/fulltext.pdf

If you look down the left side of the page (American College Of Sports Medicine) you will find Position Stands. Included in that section is a position stand on Nutrition and Athletic Performance.

It's a long article (about 16 pages) but contains information even on the first couple of pages that relates to nutrition topics discussed previously on this forum.

Thanks, and stay safe.

[ProWriter]

The most comprehensive book of that type is Bill Pearl's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, but I wouldn't recommend it, necessarily. It definitely seems logical trying to put together an exercise routine by identifying all the possible exercises for each body part and selecting from the list, but in practice, it's not really an effective way to put together a routine. There are just too many variables to be able to pick from a list like that. It's not a perfect analogy, but it would be KINDA like deciding which technique of cuffing a suspect, or taking one down by hand to use by reading a list of all techniques available and selecting one just from the description. A LOT of it is by trial and error, and some exercises that work great and are comfortable for some people just hit other people's muscles differently and/or are uncomfortable. There are also numerous principles like what order certain movements should (and shouldn't) be done with respect to each other and which exercises work a muscle group fully in combination and which different exercises might be overkill to do in the same workout.

Books of the type you have in mind generally don't do much more than list all the possible exercises by muscle group. Furthermore, there are issues related to the design of individual machines that may make leg presses, just for example, the best thing for your core quadriceps workout in one gym, and hack squats the best choice in a different gym, and so forth.

If you want to send me details of what kind of results you're looking for, how many days you envision working out regularly, which specific body parts you care about most, whether you're more interested in strength or physique development, and what your natural/untrained condition and genetic predisposition is, etc...I can put together a routine that is much more likely to work than anything you'd "cut and paste" from reading about exercises in any book. Coincidentally, my wife and I might be in LV for two weeks toward the end of October. Last time we trained at 24 Hour Fitness a few blocks from Jaguars because the gym at the Aladdin was $25/day/person :rolleyes: and only open until 10:00 or 11:00pm. I can teach the kind of thing you want to know in one or two days...my pleasure.

[Phoenix]

This is an excellent book. No training advise; just anotomical diagrams showing which exercises hit each muscle group.

Strength Training Anatomy
by Frederic Delavier


Phoenix

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Thanks, Phoenix.

That is the one I've seen before and was thinking of when I started tihs thread. I'll have to order that, soon.